Installation

Robotic arm, fresh clay, stone mortal, chemistry, eau

Clay, an ancient material, carries within it the memory of gesture. Shaped for millennia, it embodies a craftsmanship passed down through time. In the installation, its malleability depends on a robotic arm programmed to maintain its moisture. Its precise and repetitive movements recreate the ancestral gesture. Yet, the introduction of random parameters disrupts this mechanical routine, infusing its gestures with unexpected spontaneity. The machine then seems to hesitate, to grope.

The work questions the transformation of traditional knowledge in the digital age, revealing how technology reinvents our collective memory, shaping the future from the traces of the past.

This project was developed during the Future Memory Lab residency by Pro Helvetia and later exhibited at the Migliorisi Foundation (Asunción, PY) and Pyxis Numerical Exploration (Lausanne, CH).

Installation              Gonzague Rebetez and Nico Mierda